VOA常速英语2007-US House Committee Probes Case with Racial Overt

By Robert Raffaele
Washington
17 October 2007
 

Racial equality in the U.S. justice system came under scrutiny¹ Tuesday during a U.S. House committee hearing that examined the highly-publicized "Jena 6" case. The case involves six black teenagers who were initially² charged with attempted murder in connection with the beating of a white student. VOA's Robert Raffaele has more.

Emotions ran high Tuesday during a House committee hearing looking into the extent of federal intervention³ in cases of alleged⁴ "hate crimes," especially in the Jena 6 case.

Democratic Party Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee directed her anger at Donald Washington, the U.S. Attorney for Louisiana's western district, where the Jena 6 incident took place.

"Mr. Washington, tell me why you did not intervene, not by way of the legal system, but the consultation⁵ that the U.S. attorneys have with the local district attorneys. Why didn't you intervene?  This (sic) broken lives could have been prevented if you had taken the symbolic⁶ responsibility that you have being the first African-American appointed to the western district. I don't know what else to say!  I am outraged⁷!" she said.

After committee chairman John Conyers called for quiet, Washington responded. "First of all, I did intervene. I did engage the district attorney. We had conversations about his charging decisions and things of that sort. At the end of the day, there are only certain things that a United States attorney can do, that a federal representative can do, with respect to a state and how it handles its criminal justice system."

The case of the so-called Jena 6 drew tens of thousands of protesters to the Louisiana town on September 20th.

Local prosecutors⁹ initially charged five of six African-American teenage suspects as adults with attempted murder in the beating of a white high school student in 2006.

The incident at the school happened after nooses¹¹ were hung from a tree -- a symbol of the lynching of African-Americans in segregationist¹² times.  Three white students accused in that incident were suspended from school, but not prosecuted¹³.

One of the black suspects in the beating, 17-year-old Mychal Bell, served nearly 10 months in jail. Following public outcry, his sentence was reduced to a lesser¹⁴ charge, and later overturned. But last week, a judge sent Bell back to jail for violating probation¹⁵ on a previous conviction.

Since the Jena case made headlines, there have been other high-profile noose¹⁰ incidents, including a noose hung on the office doorknob of a black professor at Columbia University in New York.

The U.S. Justice Department has created a task force to handle those investigations¹⁶.

Donald Washington said the department investigated the Jena noose-hanging case, but did not bring charges because the federal government does not bring hate crime charges against juveniles¹⁷.

But many lawmakers  -- and civil rights activists¹⁹ -- said there needs to be a federal mechanism²⁰ for correcting what many see as a racial double standard in some local jurisdictions²¹.

Richard Cohen is the president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center and said at the hearing, "What we're here to call for is a level playing field, and equal justice under the law. And that's not what's happened in Jena. The prosecutor⁸ unfortunately sees race. And when that happens, there are calls for retribution. And this kind of stuff has to end. Someone has to have enough common sense to say, 'enough is enough.' "

Civil rights activist¹⁸ Reverend Al Sharpton said the Jena case must result in change, or else future generations of minorities will be in danger. "If we can't turn to the federal government, as we have for  the last 50 years, then what are we telling young students who march to Jena -- where do they turn?"

The American Civil Liberties Union praised the House hearing, calling on Congress to eliminate racism²² in the justice system.

1 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

2 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

3 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

4 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

5 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

6 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

7 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

8 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

9 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

10 noose   

n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑

参考例句：

• They tied a noose round her neck.他们在她脖子上系了一个活扣。
• A hangman's noose had already been placed around his neck.一个绞刑的绳圈已经套在他的脖子上。

11 nooses   

n.绞索，套索( noose的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Now I must prepare the nooses and the rope to lash him alongside, he thought. 现在我得准备好套索和绳子，把它绑在船边，他想。 来自英汉文学 - 老人与海
• The nooses are no prank. We were lynched, we were murdered. 这些绳套不是恶作剧。我们被处以了私刑，我们被谋杀了。 来自互联网

12 segregationist   

隔离主义者

参考例句：

• Recent federal action undermined the segregationist position. 近期的联邦行动消弱了隔离主义者的地位。

13 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

14 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

15 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。

16 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

17 juveniles   

n.青少年( juvenile的名词复数 )；扮演少年角色的演员；未成年人

参考例句：

• Do you think that punishment for violent crimes should be the same for juveniles and adults? 你对暴力犯罪的惩罚对于青少年和成人应一样吗？ 来自生活英语口语25天快训
• Juveniles Should we not exactly in need of such strength and conviction? 少年的我们难道不正是需要这种力量和信念吗？ 来自互联网

18 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

19 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

21 jurisdictions   

司法权( jurisdiction的名词复数 )； 裁判权； 管辖区域； 管辖范围

参考例句：

• Butler entreated him to remember the act abolishing the heritable jurisdictions. 巴特勒提醒他注意废除世袭审判权的国会法令。
• James I personally adjudicated between the two jurisdictions. 詹姆士一世亲自裁定双方纠纷。

22 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。